All Who Wander
by Winter's Resolve
Summary: Morro gasped; "You can only save those who want to be saved. Goodbye, Sensei." and died, wishing he could remove the pain from his old mentor's eyes. A year later, Morro is resurrected under mysterious circumstances, and Wu is desperate for the Master of Wind to be his pupil once more.
1. Tyrant

**All Who Wander**

 **Rating:** T (for some bad language, general mayhem etc.)

 **A/N:** Throughout Season 5, Morro really grew on me. I hated him in the beginning, but that death scene at the end tho…. (dammit Lego, stop playing with the viewer's feels!). To combat the angst, here's an alternative, second shot at redemption for our ghostly Master of Wind!

Featuring plenty of Kai, Lloyd & Cole friendship (because I LOVE IT) and some JayxNya (because so many of YOU love it!) ;-) Short prologue, future chapters longer.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Ninjago.

* * *

"Take my hand, Morro! Please!"

In the midst of their struggle above the water, these are the words which make Morro pause. Not because he is actually considering following their directive, but because they are so unexpected and _genuine_ , and he is so _undeserving_ of such a suggestion that he wonders why Sensei would bother saying it aloud in the first place.

He immediately thinks it is another trap; that the Sensei will only take his hand to seize the realm crystal, and then throw Morro to the water below. Given everything Morro has done – to this man, to the man's students, hell, to _the entire population of Ninjago_ \- that is the only plausible explanation for Wu's words. Death and betrayal are all Morro deserves, and both men are well aware of that fact.

Except, Morro has spent _years_ training beneath this man, and he can tell when the man is planning and lying, and he is certain that Wu isn't lying now. Those brown eyes are genuine, shining with layers upon layers of old and new pain; pain Morro knows he put there himself.

Those are not the eyes of a man about to deceive and slay a monster.

They are the eyes of a parent who desperately wishes their child would come home.

The man _still loves him_.

The realisation hits Morro hard, clenching at a ghostly heart which hasn't beaten in years. A heart he had cast aside long ago in the same bitter quest for power and respect that had led him away from Wu.

It's mind-blowing. That after fucking _everything_ that has happened, this man can still _care_.

 _("You're all my prized pupils!")_

Wu has _always_ cared. He is the man who rescued a cold, starving orphan from Ninjago's back streets and taught him that not only was he unique, but that such uniqueness was to be embraced.

He is the man who protected the orphan from street gangs with a staff and from nightmares with silly stories and hugs.

Now, Sensei Wu is the man who wants to rescue the monster all over again because he still. fucking. _cares._

Gods _damn_ him for it.

Morro has fallen too far to _deserve_ a chance at redemption; has hurt so many people he should not even _want_ it. This is the first person who ever showed him kindness (the first person Morro ever betrayed…)… he should be the _last_ person offering Morro a second chance.

"Please, come!"

For a moment, Morro can see fuck all for the ghostly tears suddenly welling in his eyes, and he hastily blinks them away, praying Wu didn't notice his sudden slip in composure.

Why the fuck would he _do_ this?

Morro doesn't deserve his teacher's love (and honestly, he never did, because all he has done is abuse it).

He's a fucking monster.

Good men are supposed to hunt monsters; hunt them and destroy them. Trust Sensei to believe that loving a monster is the way to destroy it- and rescue the soul inside.

(But if the Sensei's looking for souls, this time, he's got the wrong ghost.)

The water creeps closer.

It's far too late for Morro to consider becoming a good man.

(Doesn't mean he can't stop a bloody monster, though).

Morro replaces the hand he has in Wu's (shit, when did that happen?-) with the realm crystal and smiles sadly, choking on his last words, "You can only save those who…" who _deserve_ \- "…want to be saved. Goodbye, Sensei." and dies, half wishing he could live and take _everything_ back- if only to remove the heart-clenching pain from his old mentor's eyes.

* * *

He does not wake in Hell.

In fact, Morro does not wake at all, just _stays_ in a pool of dark nothing for what could be seconds, hours or centuries. Time does not matter, for it does not exist, and neither does Morro.

At some point, there is water, flowing over his arms, though his hair and pressing against his eyelids.

He hears echoes from conversations he cannot remember having.

 _(Voices. Kings and thorns. Judgement.)_

" **You want to live."** A voice had said.

Morro hadn't denied it, and the voice had continued. **"Death is like life. It is natural and to be accepted when the time is right, yet you and your ghosts have willingly brought chaos upon all worlds. Tell me, Morro… why would a monster like you deserve a second chance at life, when so many are celebrating your final destruction?"**

Morro hears echoes of himself snarling, "Because I'm not fucking _sorry_ for what I've done."

 **Maybe it is time that you are.**

…

The water is pushing him upwards, and Morro wonders if this is what death holds for ghosts. Just water, water _all over him_ , controlling him, breaking him, with Death's voice echoing amongst the waves.

It is a fitting fate, for a ghost which has died.

Like a human living in eternal fire.

(But the water feels so real and his eyelids feel so real and the echoes are fading away…)

The ghost of a ghost.

 _Does that cancel out, or does that make him a whole new monster?_

He never answers that question, because suddenly, _painfully_ , there is sunlight, and Morro breaks through the surface, warm and wet and **alive.**

And _alone_.


	2. Flames

**A/N** : Trolololol *dodges thrown frying pan*whoopsie! Anddd one year later, we have the first proper chapter of A.W.W… Featuring; Morro, Cole & Wu et al. (2015), plus some additional Kai epic-ness, because I am Kai trash.

Seriously. _Trash_.

Reviews are much loved and appreciated, but not anticipated, because damnnn this author has gotta work on her updating frequency and stop letting the readers down before she can be asking for anything ;-)

As always, please observe the **T rating,** kindly brought to you by Morro's potty-mouth.

* * *

All is still for a minute as Morro floats within the water, staring at this new world, aware of nothing other than the cool wind air within his lungs and the warm, bright sunlight on his skin.

Water runs over his outspread hands; glassy and soft and cleansing, yet startling in clarity. Almost as if it were accepting him; cementing him in this new world. Not _burningchokingbleeding_ **killing** like it _should._

Yesterday has ended.

"How?" he breathes, and that is when the first image hits.

 _Smoke and ash and cries and tears stain the air. Somewhere, village houses still burn. Somewhere else, it is starting to rain. Here, at the summit of a hill overlooking the broken village, the air is cold and damp and the cries of dying men still ring._

 _In the wake of destruction created by his Fallen student, Sensei Wu crumbles to his knees, then yells to a God no one believes in anymore. "You make sure he gets his mind BACK and STOPS this SLAUGHTER! That he becomes the PROTECTOR he was always meant to be!"_

 _The wind screams back wordlessly._

 _Upon the summit grasses, Wu sobs. Breaks. Bleeds. Shivers. Says quietly; "Please, bring back my child." (Because Garmadon Fell ten years ago, and all Morro has proven today is that the pain of betrayal never lessens.)_

 _But the smoke keeps rising and the sounds of battle continue to ring even when the rain finally begins to fall._

And then it stops, as abruptly as it had all started, leaving Morro staring at the endless horizon in horror.

Silence stares back.

"What?" he whispers, feeling oddly vulnerable and exposed, while wondering if this is how it feels to be possessed… or if that is something else entirely. "Sensei?"

(PleaseWHEREareyouINEEDyo-)

The world leaves again.

 _Lloyd looks down at his necrosed fingertips - the dead pieces of a body which is no longer truly his- and tries so hard to stop crying. The wind-demon within him laughs, because_ that's right **boy,** nobody is coming for you anyway and you're MINE NOW, so just givegivegive in and let me USE you to destroy all you once protected!

 _Over and over and over and over again._

 _There are moments when Lloyd can almost see him; whatever he truly is. Sometimes, he looks like a tumour, a spider, a cancer with roots and roots and legs and legs and claws everywhere in Lloyd's mind and he is not (_ _ **CAN**_ _not be) human. The urge to expel the parasite leaves Lloyd constantly on the verge of vomiting and screaming, but somehow never close enough to ever get release._

 _But it's more than a parasite. So, so, so much more._

 _It is a deep, deep greed for power and a raw, desperate ache for revenge._

 _But beneath that, it is grief. It is fear and vulnerability and the shame of exposure and griefgriefgrief (so much grief; Lloyd doesn't understand how one creature can hold such pain)._

 _(Raw throat and bloodshot-bruised eyes and fingernails-in-skin and GODS IF I COULD STOP.)_

 _Who are you mourning for?_ _Lloyd asks it one night._

 _There is no answer, so he goes back to staring at his necrosed fingertips and wondering if Kai is still looking for him somewhere._

… And it ends.

 _ **Don't you see? Yesterday will**_ _ **never**_ _**end.**_

In the water, Morro feels the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and the foreign sensation of physical fear in a physical body only increases the sense of exposure, of vulnerability, of shame and [traitor] which suddenly claws into him… but he can't feel that, can't be that, not _then_ , not now, not EVER. "The FUCK do you want with me?"

Silence follows his words, and the ocean gently laps at his fingertips.

The strangeness of the scene is dizzying.

"Show YOURSELF!" he screams again, voice rasping and hands swiping (piercing, ripping) the water. "LLOYD! I know you're doing this. Your tricks are SHIT, brat!"

 _The blade or the boy?_

 _The blade or the boy?_

 _Later, Kai will look back on this moment, and remember (with disappointment, with anger, with regret) how close he had been to seizing the blade and leaving Lloyd behind to burn._

 _But now, trapped in a volcano which could qualify as the earthly variant of hell, Kai abandons the blade and spins across the lava to reach Lloyd._

" _What about the Fang-Blade? You won't ever become the Green Ninja!" Lloyd cries uncertainly, eyes wide and pupils darkened with fear._

" _To hell with that," Kai mutters. The title would be worthless if he had to murder someone to obtain it, and right now, Honour and Survival are calling for a true Master of Fire, not some overgrown Green Ninja wannabe. Distractedly looking for an escape route, Kai affirms, "You're more important!"_

 _Lava immediately erupts around their precarious island, causing waves and waves of heat and smoke to implode throughout the volcanic chamber. Kai grabs Lloyd's shoulders, desperately trying to shield the small boy from the brute of the blast, but the next explosion makes the air impossible to breathe and the remaining space becomes too small to initiate Spinjitzu. Gods, it is all his fault. Lloyd shouldn't be caught in this nightmare._

 _Kai wonders how fire-proof trainee Fire-Masters are._

 _Probably not very._

 _Still, if he jumps backward through the wall of lava, Lloyd will be protected from the fire and Kai should have enough time to flip the kid to safety before all else goes up in flames._

 _("I knew when I had to make a choice…")_

 _Wrapping himself tighter around Lloyd, Kai backs up to the edge of the island. "Close your eyes!" he instructs, staring at the flames while his heart flutters._ Don't-think-don't-THINK- _about-the-PAINthiswillbring_ …" _We'll use Spinjitzu to get through the fire. The exit is right behind us, so run for it as soon as you land! Don't look back until you've found your dad!"…_ there-is-no-time.

 _No other way._

" _Okay!" Lloyd calls back, and Kai double-checks that the kid's eyes are actually closed; distractedly relieved that Lloyd has not yet outgrown the naïve trust which comes with childhood._

" _Now!" not giving himself time to back out in fear, Kai leaps for the fire, praying that he will be enough to get Lloyd to safety before the flames claim him._

 _Just before he hits the fire, everything is abruptly overtaken by darkness-_

 _\- and an image of the child in his arms growing up to wield all four elements and face armies of evil._

 _[Lloyd will become the Green Ninja]_

 _Kai does not see the molten flames which spread from his fingers and shield them from the fire; he does not hear Lloyd's excited cheer as they launch through layers of volcanic ash and smoke, and he will never know that Wu smiled and Garmadon cried and Cole rushed forward to steady him as they landed on the Bounty._

 _Instead, on the verge of consciousness, Kai silently promises that Ninjago's Saviour will never face the fight alone._

The world rights itself again, and Morro shakes with fury at the perceived mockery. "Is it YOU, Kai? Playing games with me?" a small wavelet laps over his head, causing Morro to splutter and curse before spitting seawater and sarcasm. "Oh, _look at_ _you_ , huh? The brave Master of Fire achieved what Morro-the-Failure could not! Acceptance that another was destined to become the Green Ninja!" Another wave. More spitting. "Scum! I am more powerful than you could EVER be! I POSSESSED your Green Ninja!"

Again, the ocean is oddly quiet and peaceful after his words.

"That's right; YOURGreen Ninja- and _that_ detail did NOT escape my notice, I may add- belonged TO ME! How does THAT make you feel, Kai?"

(Is there something wrong with someone who can't stand the silence anymore?)

"He spent a lot of time thinking about you. Waiting for **you** to rescue him. But you fucking COULDN'T. YOU WERE NOT ENOUGH, KAI. So, STOP with this shitty CHARADE!"

…The judgment of this world will drive him into insanity.

Silence rings, and the ocean drags reality away again.

 _By the time they've figured it out, the echoes of the bell have faded and it's already too late._

" _Cole…"_

 _The world has gone strangely cold, and even without Jay's warning tone, Cole would have identified the problem instinctively. They were sprinting just seconds ago, yet he has no sweat or heat from the exertion._

" _You're a… a..."_

 _Also, his body is strangely silent. No sounds come from his feet on the grass, his weapons placed loosely at his belt, or even his hair as it gently scrapes the collar of his gi._

 _He can't even hear himself breathe. Can't hear his heart race like it_ should.

"… _You didn't make it out of the Temple in time…"_

 _He feels weightless._

" _Yeah… Cole… you're a … a ghost!"_

 _Not trusting himself to look at his brothers, Cole glances to the Temple steps. A body (_ _ **his**_ _body-) lies sprawled in the doorway at the top; black hair and gi contrasting painfully with the cold white of the tiles. Its expression is determined, but the eyes are chillingly vacant._

 _He can actually see the words in their dark finality._

 _ **Cole Brookstone is dead.**_

" _No," he mumbles in disbelief. For a second, no sound comes out, and he panics. "No!" The second cry is choked and too loud. Beside him, Jay jumps, before placing a hand on Cole's shoulder in an expression of support._

 _It slips through._

Dead.

 _What happens next? How can he lead or protect when he can't feel anything? How can this not burden the team? Their goal? Their security?_

 _(Never feel the sun again, never touch again, never breathe again)._

 _He's dead weight; in more ways than one._

" _Take the scroll," he murmurs quietly to no-one in particular, still struggling to believe this is real._

 _Jay immediately reaches forward, but Kai's clearly caught his train of thought, and stops the Master of Lightening with a growl. "No. He's not getting out that easily,"_

 _So even in death, the Master of Contrary is intent on negating every little detail. Cole hopes the glare is evident on his face as he intones; "Have a little respect for the dead. Don't argue,"_

 _He isn't at all surprised when Kai interprets the warning tone as permission to escalate matters. "Stop being a big damn hero, and open the scroll already!"_

 _Cole wonders somewhat sardonically if that counts as desecration. "Shut up, Kai."_

" _You shut up with the martyred melodrama!"_

" _Martyred melodrama?!" Cole echoes in disbelief. "Firstly, that doesn't even make sense, and secondly, Kai, I'm DEAD!"_

 _An accusatory red-gloved finger stabs in his direction. It's probably meant to look dominant, but you can't really threaten someone who's already dead. "We're still a team! That means you still have a job to do!"_

 _Before Cole can form a retort, the other half of his treasonous team step in with their own irrelevant opinions. "What he said!" Jay exclaims unhelpfully, jerking a thumb in Kai's direction. "You don't get dead-days in this profession! The bad guys won't stop with the evil just because you're a ghost!"_

 _Zane's wording is far more eloquent, but differs not from Jay's in sentiment. "It goes without saying that you'd never leave any of us behind if the situation was reversed. We stand by your side until the end. And then remain there for whatever comes after."_

 _Cole rolls his eyes, praying there are no other spirits floating around the Temple and witnessing this rubbish. It would do no good if the enemy learned that Ninjago's protectors were actually Big Balls of Feelings deep down- interrogations alone would become a nightmare._

 _(Not that he doesn't appreciate it, mind you.)_

And silence, again.

Againagainagain.

The suggestion of possession suddenly holds far more weight after that last image, and Morro shivers again, but this time, the movement isn't of fear.

No one controls him. **No one.**

The storm within has built to breaking point, and Morro angrily ( _desperately_ ) raises a hand heavenward, _needing_ to feel the power and control of dark hurricanes and wordless howling to _rid_ this _monster_ from his mind. "Come ON!"

All remains still.

 _ **What?**_

 _His powers._

 _They can't be-_

 _gone?_

While the sun crosses the sky and begins to fade on the horizon, Morro desperately tries again and again and _again_ to summon even the smallest gust of wind, but every attempt fails. By the time dusk has swept over the ocean, reality is unavoidable. The gifts which Wu once rescued him for are gone, leaving him as disgustingly _worthless_ as the rest of humanity.

 _["You're all my prized pupils!"_

" _Take my hand, Morro!"]_

 _(Gods, gods, gods)_

… _Wu won't care anymore._

No more images appear, and Morro spends the next hour drifting aimlessly, staring at the stars overhead and wondering why Death couldn't have just _fucking_ kept him.

* * *

It's approaching midnight when Morro washes up on a stony beach and dimly realizes that the next few days could be a bit problematic, because …well… human beings are generally more socially acceptable when they have _clothes_.

It's pathetic how much of an issue this is going to be.

He should have clicked sooner, but in all fairness, clothing is never high on any ghost's priority list, and he still isn't used to _feeling_ for objects all the time anyway.

After standing in the waist-high water and allowing himself a moment of hesitation- cut short when the cold night air assaults his bare chest unpleasantly- Morro decides that he should probably figure out how… _extensive_ …the issue is. Slowly, awkwardly, he glances down further, and exhales in relief at the discovery of a pair ofwetsuit pants.

Hang on.

What the actual _fuck_. Who gets resurrected in swimwear?

… _Where_ is his armour?

He nearly starts cursing again for the hell of it, but a rattle and flash abruptly draw his attention to the beach. Silently slipping back into the dark water, he edges closer, gradually making out several figures surrounding a bonfire, and as the distance narrows, their voices become audible.

 _Recognisable._

The smart-ass in red, the walking computer in white, the clown in blue and the broody ghost in murky black-green. What a colourful bunch.

Clearly, fate isn't yet done with their conflict. Oh, this is too perfect.

Crouching by the rocks on the shore line, Morro watches the Master of Lightening stand and raise a glass in the direction of the fire, his tone taking on a gleeful edge.

"…On this fine evening, exactly one year after Morro's defeat, I just want to thank the man who made our success possible. Morro himself." a round of laughter from the other three rings after his words, and concealed in darkness, Morro _seethes_.

They're _mocking_ him. They think he's dead, and they're mocking him.

"Jay…" a girl Morro didn't notice before sits beside the Master of Lightening. At his words, she laughs merrily and places a hand on his arm. "…It isn't nice to joke about the dead. Besides, Morro was Sensei's first student!"

There's something incredibly familiar about her, and Morro inches forward, eyes squinting to make her out better against the fire's glare. As he watches, she absent-mindedly summons something in her hands and sprinkles it at the fire's edge. Steam immediately rises from the site with a gentle hiss.

She's the Master of Water.

He nearly snaps right there and then, and if he still had his powers she would have already been dead. As it is, she remains the one person Morro would do anything to kill. This is the girl who ruined _everything_ with her eleventh hour _water powers_. If it hadn't been for her, Ninjago's history would have been re-written entirely.

He stalks closer to the fire.

Back by the firelight and completely unaware of the threat lurking only meters away, Jay smiles at the Master of Water's little display before continuing with the mockery, "Light cannot shine without darkness, and your attempts at evil were very dark indeed, Morro. But in the end, like all our other enemies, you were easily defeated. All you really achieved was a substantial increase in _our_ fame… not to mention our pay-checks!"

The itch to destroy them all becomes overwhelming; a possession all of its own, and one which Morro is more than happy to obey.

[Isn't there something wrong with someone who perceives slavery to self as true freedom?]

 _How dare they._

 _How can they mock and judge and crow when they've never seen, never known, never understood the utter_ _ **shit**_ _which led him down this path?_

 _Have any of them_ _ **ever**_ _been truly unloved? Hungry? Cold? Hopeless?_

 _(the cold will break you faster than anything else)_

 _DamnitALLtoHELL._

"So, I do hope you're having a lovely time in whatever afterlife is unlucky enough to have you… We certainly don't miss you over here." The speech concludes with a mock toast in the direction of the fire. "Here's to you, Morro. Or- as it's nearly midnight- should I say, here's to-morrow. Hehe." There's another round of laughter, and Morro decides that since the speech is over, it's only good etiquette to reply.

"Well, in short, brats…" he sneers, stalking into the firelight and darkly delighting at their reactions. "… _not_ dead."

The laughter abruptly drops to silence, and Jay's _oh hell no_ look informs the rest of the horrified team that _this is not part of the act._

The Master of Ice reacts first by giving the ninja in blue an accusatory frown. "Jay, what have you done?" But his reluctance to address Morro directly reveals that even he isn't over the shock.

Jay's glass drops, shattering on the stones, and he edges away hurriedly. "Don't blame _me_ , Zane! I thought a ghost could only be summoned from a camp-fire in the movies!"

"Current evidence is suggestive of the contrary,"

"I wasn't to know! You should've stopped me, brainiac!"

Their bickering is cut short by the ghostly Master of Earth, who rises and gives Morro a heated scowl. "Well this isn't _awkward_ at all," he sneers, folding his arms in a characteristic stance of disapproval. "How come _you_ get to be physical again?"

"Beats me, buddy." Morro snaps, sensing this would already be a fistfight if Cole wasn't intangible. These ninja always _did_ take things too personally, but it's not like _Morro's_ responsible for events at Yang's Temple. The ninja fucked that one up all by themselves. "Why don't you go for a swim?"

Before Cole can process that comment and respond suitably, Kai launches to his feet and throws his own unnecessary two-cents into the brewing storm. "So after _everything_ you've done, Fate's given us a second chance to send you to the grave." Even in the faint moonlight, violent intent is clear in the Master of Fire's chilling gaze. "That's _excellent_."

"Yanno, I don't see Greenie anywhere," Morro shoots back with a cruel smirk. "Lose your toy-boy again, Kai?"

There's a collective gasp from the still-dazed spectators as the crudity registers.

Kai makes no comment, just neatly sidesteps the fire and suddenly slams a fist into Morro's sternum. Morro realises at the last second that baiting the other man may not have been the wisest course of action; he's forgotten how fast the damn firecracker can move.

Before the pain registers, Morro grips Kai's neck and flings him downward, but the Fire Master digs a hand into his shoulder at the last moment which drags him over as well. They hit the ground together, where it quickly becomes apparent that despite his position beneath Morro, Kai has the advantage. Morro takes several fists to the jaw before Kai flips them over, kicking up enough sand and drift wood to make it impossible to track every limb. Morro somehow manages to land an elbow strike, causing a rib to crack audibly, but Kai simultaneously delivers a kick to the back of his head, leaving Morro staring at stars.

"STOP!" A new pair of footsteps storms across the shore, and even with pain imploding throughout his skull, Morro recognises Sensei's voice. "I can't leave you lot alone for a minute. Who's squabbling this time?"

With clear reluctance, Kai rolls off Morro and their teacher notes the scene disapprovingly, "I see Kai, and…" suddenly Sensei becomes soft and unsure. "… Morro?"

"Surprise, Sensei." Morro spits shakily from the sand, and then everything goes very black.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hahaha… swimwear. Don't take yourself so seriously, Morro! In my defence, he wouldn't have swum so well in his normal gear … amiright?

Despite the insinuations, there is no Lloyd/Kai in this fic (soz, but Kai is mine)… Morro's just a weee bit jealous of the ninja fam. And, yanno, deranged.


	3. Warzone

**A/N:** Lol, what's progress?

BTW, this story is massively AU for Season Six. Some stuff may be recognisable, but other parts won't be. Don't worry; it's all part of the plot, and will make sense eventually!

We're with Kai and Cole for this stupid, plot-heavy chapter, but Morro will be front and centre for the next one, so stay tuned Morro fans ;)

I don't own Ninjago.

* * *

 _[Two weeks ago -_

They're on a platform several meters above the roof of Ninjago City Hospital, hiding in the shadow from an overhead billboard and panting harshly after their narrow escape from the crowd of fans and paparazzi.

Cole's still suitably miffed at Kai for giving away their location (on _Twitter_ , no less. Gods, his best friend can be a total _dickhead_ sometimes) and causing said crowd. However, Kai's position as Today's Token Idiot appears to be in jeopardy; his younger sister is providing some pretty solid competition for the title by standing on the rooftop below _in plain sight_ and screaming insults at Jay. Gods, Cole has no idea how that happened, but he _does_ know that he is pissed at Sensei Wu. The only thing achieved by adding another Smith sibling to the team is, so far, a significant increase in the incidence of stress-induced headaches experienced by everyone else.

Zane appears to be sharing his line of thought, and says, with a long-suffering sigh that Cole didn't know the Nindroid was capable of, "Jay, please just get her up here,"

"Grovel if you have to," Lloyd adds sardonically, and Cole is almost thrown by the kid's acute grasp of 'Jaya Relationship Dynamics', and has to remind himself for the umpteenth time that _Lloyd is_ _no longer a kid, now get with the program._

However, before Cole can exercise his leadership by 'volunteering' someone to go down and physically retrieve Nya, Kai interrupts with a frown. "We're gonna need an escape-route, Chief. I reckon we've got two minutes before they get past that door we barricaded, and we _really_ need to be gone before that happens,"

It's an excellent point, but gods, the situation really _has_ gone to hell if _Kai_ is the only one still thinking tactically. Cole sighs, deciding that Jay can deal with Nya by himself, and tries to get his own head back in the game. "Agreed. Ideas? Remember, we can't go back through the building; there's too many people. And the surrounding buildings are too far away to jump,"

Kai shrugs. "What about breaking into the elevator shaft? There might be an entrance panel or something on the roof somewhere,"

Cole tries not to roll his eyes. Those are _hospital_ elevators, for god's sake. Why does Kai think that compromising federal law is always the first acceptable course of action? Nevertheless, time is really running out. "Get down there and find it!"

Before they jump off the platform, Cole pauses to check Jay's progress. The Master of Lightening is begging Nya to take his outstretched hand, and Nya is looking up at him with a characteristic mix of defiance and distrust, and Cole groans, _knowing_ that nothing is going to resolve this –

\- and then Nya suddenly _smiles at Jay and takes his hand._

Cole feels nauseous all of a sudden, and for reasons he cannot identify, he falls to his knees; suddenly weakened by an overwhelming sense of utter _grief, despair_ and _loss,_ followed by the need to _scream._ It's a stupid reaction to have to the sight of Jay taking Nya's hand, and Cole cluelessly tries to remember if he ever felt anything for Nya other than mild interest and admiration, but draws utter blanks. Perhaps, several months ago, he would've felt mild jealousy, but honestly, he hasn't thought about Nya in _ages._

 _So why does he feel like he's just ripped out half of his heart?_

There is no time to _understand_ any of it, because several meters away, Kai collapses suddenly, and his body falls precariously close to the edge of the platform. Gasping for breath, Cole stumbles over to the motionless Master of Fire, wondering if he's somehow been struck down by the same eerie sensations.

But it is so much worse.

Kai's face is suddenly covered in scars and ash and tears and _so so so much blood._ His gi is stained with fresh blood too; and it is spreading out from the centre of his chest, where there is –

There is –

A _bullet hole._

"Sniper!" Cole screams hoarsely. "Someone shot Kai! Sniper! Get down!" They need to get to a doctor; gods, he _has_ to get Kai to a doctor now, but fuck, they barricaded the door leading back into the hospital because of those damn paparazzi and it's going to be impossible to push back through it while under fire, and he can't risk the rest of the team getting shot at, because this sniper clearly knows their shit.

Kai's still bleeding.

Should he – what – put pressure on the wound? Or will that drive the bullet in further? How far does the average bullet penetrate into human flesh? Shit, it would depend on the gun, bullet and range. What weapon did the sniper use?

… Then again, there is a good chance that the bullet has hit Kai's heart, or a major blood vessel. And that would mean that Kai is essentially already dead, and Cole can't justify putting the rest of the team in harm's way to save a corpse… can he?

… Fuck, where _exactly_ does the human heart sit?

Gods, forget this. They need to get back to the door and get Kai to an operating table; all this _thinking_ is stupidstupid _stupid;_ regardless of the risk and the consequences, he _cannot stand by while this man dies -_

\- The world blurs again and then Kai is suddenly standing in front of him, without a trace of blood or dirt on his person, and Cole dimly registers that not-dead!Kai is guiding him to stand.

"Hey, hey, hey," Kai is saying softly, his amber eyes drawn with concern as they search Cole's face. "I'm fine. What made you think there's a sniper up here?"

 _What in the actual hell._ Cole doesn't know how to reply to that; he's too busy staring at Kai's chest, which was supposedly leaking his lifeblood just seconds ago. But now, there is no bullet-hole, or anything else to suggest that the Master of Fire was ever injured at all.

Had he hallucinated it? Is this some sort of psychological breakdown? Eventually, Cole swallows and, without meeting Kai's inquisitive gaze, mumbles, "You fell,"

"Yeah, part of this stupid platform gave out from under me," Kai chuckles, pointing to several smashed tiles at the site where Cole had seen him go over. "Look at that cheap quality. Guess it couldn't handle my gains!"

Cole's going to be seriously pissed if Ninjago City Hospital doesn't have a psychiatric ward. Paparazzi be damned.]

* * *

Wu had wisely decided that putting Kai in the same vehicle as Morro's unconscious form was not a sensible decision, so Cole ends up driving Kai home in the car while the rest of the team depart the beach in the mini-van. Kai remains silent for most of the drive, for which Cole is grateful; as much as he enjoys conversations with the firecracker, Morro's return holds some terrifying implications, and it's easier to mull such things over when undisturbed.

It's been two weeks since the fiasco on the roof of Ninjago City Hospital, and Cole's understanding regarding _that_ particular incident has not improved as the days have passed. He'd initially been convinced that Kai's injury had been some sort of personal hallucination, and had spent several days tentatively considering psychosis or mania. But no further incidents had occurred, and Cole's now hoping that he'd simply seen what he had expected to see; Kai had fallen, so Cole had assumed he'd been injured and the resulting adrenaline had blown everything out of proportion in the heat of the moment.

But deep down, Cole knows he's only fooling himself. _Something_ happened on that rooftop two weeks ago; _something_ which had caused Nya and Jay's constant arguments to suddenly cease, _something_ which had caused Lloyd to suddenly _hate_ Kai with a vengeance, _something_ which had caused Kai to spend his nights sitting in the living room staring at a blank wall in quiet horror, _something_ which had made Cole dream every night that he was holding a smoking gun and the barrel was pointed at Kai's bleeding chest -

\- But _no one_ ever speaks about _any_ of it, and no matter _how many times_ Cole mentally replays that scene on the rooftop, he can never figure out _what it was_ that had caused his team to suddenly break apart so silently.

Jay and Nya don't even seem to be consciously _aware_ that anything has changed in their relationship or amongst their teammates, and neither Zane nor Wu appear to have noticed the sudden tension which has crept into the group, so Cole thinks that those four know _nothing_ about whatever happened on the hospital rooftop.

But he is equally _certain_ that Lloyd and Kai _do_ know something about it, because Lloyd's anger at Kai holds an uncharacteristic _finality_ to it, and Lloyd is _never_ angry at Kai without reason. Kai doesn't appear to find the Green Ninja's behaviour strange at all; if anything, Cole feels that Kai has accepted it entirely.

The question is - what did Kai _do_ to feel that he deserves Lloyd's anger?

What caused Jay and Nya to suddenly put aside their childish quarrels and openly _cherish_ each other?

Why does Kai spend his nights staring at blank walls and whispering apologies to no one?

Why has no one else _noticed any of this?_

And now, after tonight's events – how does Morro fit into this, if at all?

Cole has no answers.


End file.
